title: Picosecond pulsed laser induced optical dichroism in glass with embedded metallic nanoparticles.
abstract: Picosecond (~10 ps) pulsed laser irradiation at 532 nm led to the efficient and scalable fabrication of dichroic areas in glass with spherical silver nanoparticles of ~30 - 40 nm in diameter embedded in a surface layer of thickness ~20 μm. The observed dichroism is due to the uniform and permanent shape transformation of the nanoparticles - from spherical to spheroidal shapes - throughout the irradiated areas and along the laser polarization direction, paving the way for affordable manufacture of polarization-selective diffractive optical elements. The shape modification threshold and the dichroism as a result of Surface Plasmon Resonance band separation were identified. The process was then studied as a function of the laser polarization, repetition rate and the number of pulses fired per spot.
authors.forename: Mateusz A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Tyrk
authors.forename: W Allan
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Gillespie
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Seifert
authors.forename: Amin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abdolvand